Shifting a transmission into various modes (e.g., Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive) has been traditionally accomplished by mechanical links to put the vehicle in the drive modes via a lever mounted on the steering column or a gear shifter near the center console. More recently, vehicles have become equipped with shift by wire (SBW) systems in which the transmission modes are engaged/changed via electronic controls without any mechanical linkage between the gear shifting lever and the transmission. SBW systems eliminate space required for housing the mechanical linkages between the shifter and the transmission.
One type of SBW system includes a push-button panel in which multiple buttons are provided, each button corresponding to a desired transmission mode. For example, if the operator depresses a button corresponding to a Park mode (e.g., “P”), a request would be sent to the control system to place the vehicle in park. The request is fulfilled assuming other conditions are met, such as the vehicle being motionless and the brake pedal being applied. Another type of SBW system includes a rotary shifter in which the operator rotates a knob to the desired transmission mode.